Oliver Ward Timeline & Summary

Oliver Ward meets Susan at a New Year's party and falls in love with her instantly. They get married several years later.
Oliver works at a mine in New Almaden but is forced to quit after a beef with his boss.
While looking for work in San Francisco, Oliver attempts to start a cement business, though he's never able to get it off the ground.
Finally, Oliver and Susan end up in Leadville, Colorado. Oliver does really well at first, but the mine eventually hits hard times, and he's forced to move once again.
The family moves to Mexico, but their trip is short—Oliver quickly determines that the mine in question is worthless.
Oliver develops an ambitious plan to build an irrigation system in the Idaho desert. The whole family moves out to work on this project.
Oliver rehires Frank, his former assistant in Leadville.
The irrigation project is all over the place: sometimes it looks like it will be wildly successful, while at other times, it looks like it's on the brink of failure.
Oliver discovers that Susan is having an affair with Frank after his youngest daughter, Agnes, drowns.
At some later point, Oliver designs a hybrid rose that he names in Agnes' honor.